Project 543 tells the story of unique spots across North Carolina we hope will become some of your favorite places. Why 543? Because that’s the number of miles from Manteo, on the coast, to Murphy, in the mountains, and is traditionally considered to be the width of our state. The entries in this project are in no particular order, and we’ll add to them each week. Check in often to find inspiration for your next trip, or start planning today at VisitNC.com.

What is Project 543?

Project 543 tells the story of unique spots across North Carolina we hope will become some of your favorite places. Why 543? Because that’s the number of miles from Manteo, on the coast, to Murphy, in the mountains, and is traditionally considered to be the width of our state. The entries in this project are in no particular order, and we’ll add to them each week. Check in often to find inspiration for your next trip, or start planning today at VisitNC.com.

Search 543

Find the home of the perfect Christmas tree

Western North Carolina is known for its “perfect” Christmas trees and many visitors make it an annual tradition to head to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a choose-and-cut tree. But only Mitchell County is the home to a Christmas tree so perfect that it helped reinvigorate a community. The Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree project began in 2003 when author Gloria Houston gave the rights to her book The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree to the town of Spruce Pine, where the local economy had been devastated by the loss of the town’s largest employer. The Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree shop and mail-order website were soon born and became non-profit sales outlets for artisan crafts people, farmers, musicians and authors from Western North Carolina. Handcrafted ornaments from the project were selected by First Lady Laura Bush in 2006 to be featured on the White House trees. Now called the Market on Oak, the new and expanded Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree store has supported more than 120 local crafts people and small businesses while also providing scholarships for local high school students.